AN ESTIMATED E6,000 worth of drugs that were bound for the Oxegen Festival at Punchestown, Co Kildare were seized at Castleblayney on Friday 6 and Saturday July 7.
Drugs including cannabis resin, ecstasy tablets, cocaine, and cannabis grass were seized after the Garda Divisional Drugs Unit conducted searches of coaches and cars at a checkpoint at Drumcrew, Castleblayney.
Twenty four men, mostly from the North, were arrested and charged by gardai under the Misuse of Drugs Act, and a number of those were arrested for possession of drugs for sale and supply.
The crackdown drugs operation was undertaken by the Garda Divisional Drugs Unit, and was reinforced by gardai. Garda Superintendent Heller from Carrickmacross, who was in charge of the operation, said it was part of “ongoing operations targeting persons involved in drug activity.”
Following on from the operation, a man with a Belfast address appeared at Carrickmacross District Court this week for the possession, sale and supply of 100 ecstasy tablets and a quantity of cannabis resin.
Christopher McCusker had been remanded in custody to Monday’s Carrick sitting from a special sitting of Ardee District Court on Saturday evening after the defendant was arrested in Castleblayney.
On Monday, McCusker was remanded on continuing bail of E3,600 a third of which had to be lodged to appear at the September 17 sitting. The defendant was represented in court by Mr Martin Crilly, Solicitor, Carrickmacross who told Judge Brennan that his client’s father was also present in court.